Just Call it a Love Story
by MrsMalfoy18
Summary: All grown up, but not really, our three boys are just trying to figure out where to go from here. Tsukishima Kei x OC, Kuroo Tetsurou x OC, Nishinoya Yu x OC. Rated T just in case. Short, bite size chapters :)
1. Chapter 1

Tsukishima Kei slammed his hand down on his alarm clock, turning it completely off. He groaned, rubbing his face and sitting up. He stretched out his arms and yawned, rubbing his right eye again and glancing at the clock.

6:02 AM

He looked out his window. He could see only the various other buildings that surrounded his apartment in Tokyo. Though he could not see them, the familiar humming rising from down below confirmed the multitude of cars that were rushing by, numerous other people starting the day long before him. He rolled his neck around, yawning again, waking his body up. He swung his long legs around the edge of the bed, his left leg getting caught up in the sheets, bringing part of them down with him. Inhaling deeply, he didn't bother with his house slippers and instead made his way into the bathroom. He turned on the shower, letting the hot water run so that it could warm up.

After a quick shower, he tousled his hair with the towel, drying it off a bit. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. The bags under his eyes seemed to be getting worse, despite the fact that he got the recommended eight hours of sleep a night. He wasn't sure what more to do about it. Even in college, he hadn't been this way. And he had worked quickly enough to finish a year early, gaining enough recognition to secure a steady job immediately after. Being an editor wasn't exactly hard work. Not for him, anyway. Frustrating, perhaps. Definitely frustrating. It was as though these writers were a bunch of incompetent elementary school students, the way they composed their sentences. Their lack of vocabulary was also quite astonishing. The sparsity of their words was enough to make him cringe. He didn't know how so many had achieved their status with knowing only a handful of words.

He tossed his white shirt over his shoulders, doing the buttons up. He exited the bathroom, and put on his glasses before glancing at the clock again.

6:23 AM

Grabbing the tie that was hanging over his arm chair, he wrapped it around his neck, and stood in front of the mirror to tie it. Once finished, he reached over to his night stand to put on his watch and grab his phone. No notifications other than a few news updates and the weather report for the day. Of course, he had already checked the weather the night before. He glanced over to his bed, telling himself he would start making it beginning tomorrow; but right now he didn't have time. He made it to his front door and slipped on his shoes. Another day in the life of Kei, he thought grimly.

It seemed to him that the only variation to his daily routine was what he chose to eat for dinner. Or rather, what he chose to _buy_ for dinner. He had never been a very good cook, and now that he lived alone, he quickly realized how limited his options truly were. As he walked down to catch the train, he wondered if perhaps his tiredness was due to his eating habits. He almost never had breakfast, after all. Although he did have rather large lunches, courtesy of the restaurant down the street from his work. He went so often that the owner now knew him by name, and gave him the occasional discount.

There was a sudden rush of wind as he descended down into the metro station. He grimaced, propping up the collar of his coat. He reached into his pocket, where his pass rested from the day before, and pulled it out to get through the gates. He had to tap it three times against the sensor before it let him through. Joining the mass migration of moving people, he held on tightly to his satchel, which carried a variety of papers and his laptop. He took a quick look at his watch.

6:27 AM

His train left promptly at 6:31. He didn't know why it was such an obscure time, but it granted him an extra minute every morning. In any case, at this distance, he'd surely make it in time. He continued down on his way, trying to reach the appropriate platform. In the dizzying rush of people trying to get to work, a young woman stood in front of one of the many maps that lined the underground, staring at it as though she had all the time in the world. Her fingertips rested just above her chin as her eyes darted across the illuminated guide. Kei couldn't help but find it slightly amusing, the fact that someone couldn't figure out how the trains worked. From the expression she held, she didn't even know where she stood currently. If he were anyone else, perhaps he would have offered assistance.

The young woman cocked her head to the side, and as Kei got closer, he realized that he knew who she was. His heart pounded irregularly, and he unknowingly stopped his even pace. People pushed past him, some muttering rude comments, and yet, he didn't move. He couldn't. His mouth had gone completely dry, his legs feeling like lead.

From down below, Kei could hear his train departing.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi everyone! If you read/are reading my Oikawa x OC fic, then you probably already know the deal. If you haven't, definitely go check it out! Chapters for this story will be relatively short by nature, and I'll try to keep the updates as regular as possible ^^**


	2. Chapter 2

Even though Kuroo Tetsurou was the manager, his boss insisted he work the cashier, so as to draw in more customers. He couldn't exactly mind, he was able to see more cute faces this way. He hadn't counted to _still_ be working at this clothing store after college, but it paid the bills. And being a manager was a pretty sweet deal. Plus, if he ever got a girlfriend he'd be able to find her the perfect pair of pants. He cringed at his own thoughts. Maybe he'd gotten a bit too familiar with women's clothing. But, it couldn't hurt, right?

His whole life, he'd thought himself to be pretty attractive. Not to toot his own horn of course. But finding a girl had never been a problem for him. Only, now that he was older, girls were apparently looking for someone more 'stable,' whatever that meant. At least, that's what the last ex had told him. He was still noticed, of course, he just wished it wasn't by the horde of high school girls that were constantly flocking into his store.

Which is exactly why, when the young lady walked in, looking hopelessly lost as she compared various sweaters, he couldn't help but notice her. Of course, noticing customers was part of his job, but this girl stood out. She looked too old to be in high school, at least he hoped, especially considering how lost she looked. No teen would be confused upon entering this particular store. It was all the rage, after all.

"Finding everything ok?" he flashed a friendly smile, offering her some help.

"Oh," she smiled back, "Um, I think I'm a bit out of touch," she giggled, "My sister is turning fourteen. I'm not sure which to get."

He hummed thoughtfully, before reaching for the advertised sweater with oversized buttons. "I'd suggest this one, it sold out last weekend, and we just got a new order in. I'm sure she'd love it. What size is she?"

"Oh, just about my size."

He motioned towards the dressing room, "You can go ahead and try it on. If you don't mind," he reached out for one of the plaid shirts on a hanger, "I think this would look good on you. The blue would complement your eyes."

He noticed her blush, and silently praised himself. Point for Tetsu. He tried to not get too ahead of himself, but he couldn't help but be excited. He hadn't been on a legit date in a long time.

"Oh," she smiled bashfully, taking both the sweater and shirt, "Thank you. I'll go try it on."

Mei closed the door to the dressing room with a shaky hand. She was definitely out of place in a store like this. But she hadn't seen her little sister in a long time, and she wanted to have the perfect gift. The clerk or whatever those guys were called had been pretty nice about it all. She had to be sure to get his name afterwards. Maybe it was a stereotype, but gay men certainly had an eye for fashion. The shirt he had picked out for her looked amazing. Too bad she couldn't afford it. She sighed. All this student debt was going to slowly crush her soul.

As luck would have it, he was her cashier when she was checking out.

"Did you not like the shirt?"

She bit her lip, "It's not that, it was great. I'm just…kind of poor." She giggled. He nodded, chuckling, "I know how that goes. Tell you what, if you decide to come back, I'll give you my employee discount."

"That's really sweet of you!"

He smiled at her.

 _Ok, come on Tetsu. You've done this before. Don't mess this up._

"Hey do you maybe wanna grab coffee sometime?"

 _Shit. That was way too fast. She's just looking at you. She probably didn't even know what you said. Goddamnit Kuroo, goddamnit—_

"Um…I can write my number on the receipt?"

He blinked, before grabbing for his pen, "Yeah, yeah. That'd be great."

She smiled. "Awesome. I'm Tachibana Mei."

"Kuroo Tetsurou."

"Nice to meet you." She smiled politely, and took her purchase, swinging it around as she left the store.

Kuroo couldn't get his heart to stop pounding. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. And who knew? This girl might end up being a serious thing! He'd never had a very long term relationship before, but he was realizing after endless nights alone in his apartment, that maybe being 'serious' wouldn't be such a bad thing. He was at that awkward stage where half of his friends were getting married and the other half were too drunk to answer their phones. He wasn't exactly anxious to jump on the wedding train just yet, but a steady relationship was definitely something he found himself craving.

Mei hadn't expected him to ask her so bluntly, but she was glad for it nonetheless. She generally wasn't very outgoing, so it was hard for her to make friends sometimes. But the clerk was definitely a nice guy, so she figured it couldn't hurt. He'd picked out the perfect outfit, after all. So a new friend like this would definitely be an exciting thing.

* * *

 **A/N: Lol. That's all I have to say.**

 **SoulXHunter: Tsukki, I love him but he's such a little...*ahem* He's also incredibly difficult to write for the dinosaur loving dork =_= but I'll do my best hehe ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

"You need to stop getting into fights." She said, dabbing him with the bag of frozen peas.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Nishinoya…"

"Yeesh don't say my name like that. It's like you're scolding me."

"I am scolding you!"

He pouted. "It's not my fault-"

"Yuu. This is the third job you lose."

"So I'll find another one."

She exhaled angrily. "I'm serious. You can't keep doing this. What did this guy even do?"

"He was looking at Clara! But then turns out that was her boyfriend…so…"

She sighed, "Honestly, protecting women that don't need protecting. You get so hung up on girls you don't even know."

"She was my co-worker!"

"She had just gotten the job!"

He sat quiet, knowing Rinko was right about this one. "Fine, fine. I'll stop getting into fights."

She smiled at that. "Good. Are we still on for dinner tomorrow?"

"I wouldn't miss your cooking for anything!" he affirmed.

She shook her head, and continued to press the frozen peas to his swollen cheek. "There's an opening at the coffee shop down the street. You've been a barista before, right?"

His eyes lit up and he hugged his friend. "Yes! You're the best Koko! I won't lose this one! Promise!" He quickly rushed out, as though he intended to apply right that very second. Rinko watched him bolt out the door, sighing to herself.

Why she was friends with him in the first place was a wonder. He was so loud and extravagant and she just…wasn't. When they first met, she had said her name so softly that he had only heard the last syllable. Hence his nickname for her. Why they were still friends after all this time was an even bigger mystery.

Well, maybe not so much. She was basically his mother, considering everything she had to do for him. She didn't mind though. So long as she got to spend time with him.

He was completely ignorant to all this, of course. It didn't particularly bother her. He had always been kind of girl crazy, but none of them ever seemed to stick. Through them all, she had been there, and while the girlfriends were shuffled around like a deck of cards, Yuu had never tried to get rid of her. So in a way, she felt special. It was also why she couldn't stop doing things for him. Because if she did…then maybe…maybe he wouldn't…

Well she didn't really like thinking about that. So instead, she just kept quiet, and was the reliable and stable friend he needed in his life. After all these years of holding in her true feelings, she'd gotten pretty good at it, but there were moments where she thought she might blurt it all out with no reason or control.

But again, she was pretty good at that sort of thing. And Yuu was always so loud and full of energy that she hardly ever had time to dwell on her own thoughts. It was because of his sprightliness that they had even become friends. She was certainly much too shy to take any action of her own.

They had been quite young, attending a school which was really more of a daycare than anything else. Though they both went every day, they almost never spoke. Until one day, when it was time for their afternoon nap, and it began to rain.

It was quite the paradox; Rinko loved the rain, but the moment the thunder and lightning began, a controlling fear would possess her. It was something that even to this day, she was shamefully consumed by. But that day, even though they had only spoken once before, he approached her, taking her hand as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Koko, right?"

She didn't know if it was the fear or her shyness or whatever, but she did not correct him, and instead nodded her head.

"You look like you're gonna cry. Are you scared?"

Generally, the other boys would have made fun of her. But not him. Again she quietly and quickly nodded her head, as the thunder crashed down, and a hushed scream left her small mouth, her eyes shut desperately tight.

"It's ok," he squeezed her hand, and it was enough to make her open her eyes. He was smiling at her. "You just have to be louder than the thunder is all! See, watch. THUNDER!" He bellowed out and waved his arms, and it was the absolute most strangest thing Rinko had ever seen. Still, she laughed.

"Now you try."

She shifted nervously. "I-I'm not very loud."

He shrugged. "Just try. I'll do it with you. One, two, three…"

"THUNDER!"

Again she burst into giggles, the looming fear of the storm slowly washing away. Of course, they got in trouble that day, for creating such a disturbance. But, she was fine with that. Whenever it rained, and only when it rained, she would quietly curl up next to Yuu, and not once did he protest. She didn't know why he was so nice, but she was grateful for it. And in that one short moment, she had found her best friend, and her first love.

* * *

 **A/N: I love them all but Kei is next and I'm just like Tsukkkiiiiiiiiiiiii. *ahem* hope you enjoyed the update ^^**


	4. Chapter 4

She had been his first everything. His first kiss, first girlfriend, first lover. She had left his life the same way she had entered: seemingly silent, and without a trace. And now, she had returned in just the same manner. He needed to get to this train. He had already missed the first one. All he had to do was take four and half steps to the right and descend down the scattered steps. She hadn't seen him. There wouldn't be any need to ever see her again. Somehow though, despite himself, he knew he wasn't strong enough for that. Silently, he cursed himself.

"Kiara."

She lifted her head from the map, turning it to the direction of the sound. Instantly, her lips broke into a wide grin. Her expression was exactly the same, as though they had seen each other just yesterday.

"It will never fail to surprise me how tall you truly are."

"It's been how many years, and that's the sort of greeting you give?"

She laughed, and he was filled with nostalgic longing that made his heart ache.

"As cold as ever, I see. How have you been?"

"Fine. I'm afraid I have a train to catch though."

He made to leave, silently exhaling and congratulating himself. He had made it through. He had not counted on ever seeing her again, and it hadn't exactly panned out the way he had always imagined it back when he was still a teenager, but it was done. He didn't need her anymore.

"Kei!"

How that voice _still_ managed to pierce through his very core, he didn't understand. Despite himself, he stopped. She caught up to him, "Maybe we can grab a coffee or something? To catch up." She suggested hopefully.

With his hands in his pockets and the best indignant expression he could muster, he muttered a 'maybe,' before descending down the stairs to catch his train.

…

 _"What are you doing?"_

 _She pressed her lips to his skin once more. "That's a silly question. Obviously I'm kissing your chest."_

 _He made a gruff sound. She looked up at him, "Does it bother you?"_

 _"I didn't say that." He said casually, though she noticed the soft pink hue that lined the tops of his cheeks._

 _She smiled. "I'll keep doing it then."_

 _"Maybe you shouldn't."_

 _She bit her lip, still smiling, and moved up, so that her lips could meet his. "Do you prefer when I kiss you like this?"_

 _He wrapped his long arms around her, and flipped her down so that she lay next to him, rather than on top of him. He held her in place, though she whined. "Kei, you ruin everything."_

 _"Shh. Go to sleep."_

 _Though she closed her eyes her fingers found his chest, and they continued to form circular patterns around and down towards his stomach._

 _"Stop." He grunted._

 _She pecked his lips. "Well stop playing volleyball. And then you won't have these delicious abs and I won't have any reason to touch you." She giggled at the last part, biting her lip playfully._

The train lurched forward before tossing back in a screechy halt, shaking him from his memories. He nearly fell on the person standing next to him, but managed to reach for the bars just in time. He glanced up at the labels of the station. Only one more stop to go. Had that much time passed? He didn't even really remember getting on the train to begin with.

She had that exact same smile. Her hair was a bit longer. It suited her, though. And she had said his name in just the same way as she had all those years ago. As though she didn't remember how things had been left off.

Perhaps she didn't. She had always been carefree, to a degree that rather bothered him. But it was exactly that free-spirited-ness which drew him to her.

He got off at his stop, with numerous other people. For a moment he wondered how those shorter than he managed their way through the crowd. It must be quite an exhausting effort, day in and day out. As another gust of wind abducted his face, his thoughts circled back to her. She had managed to become his everything, in such a short amount of time.

He knew better than that, of course. Everything, every nerve in his body, every logical thought he had ever conceived screeched at him to stop. That the only possible outcome for this fantasy was ruin. If he got too attached then it would hurt all the more. He had seen it happen too many times. Had gone through it himself, once, for her. It's why he absolutely refused to do it again. Instead, he would simply do what he always did. For as long as he could remember, he survived by applying minimal effort to nearly every aspect of his life, never allowing his interests to burn with the fuel of passion. He wouldn't give in this time. There was simply too much risk involved otherwise.

* * *

 **A/N: Tsukki gives me life.**

 **Heartthrob-san: Omg your comments made me laugh and smile this giant stupid ugly smile. Like I made this really nasty snort-laugh noise when I read the "Tsukki used ASTONISH" bahahaha. Killed me. Thank you.**


	5. Chapter 5

He was nervous. Probably more nervous than he should have been. They had texted a bit since the last time they met. She used a lot of smileys. That was a good sign, right? But girls always used smileys in general. His foot continued to tap the ground as he waited for her to show up. Maybe he'd sent her the wrong address on accident. He checked his phone for the fourth time since getting to the cafe. No, he was right. There were still three minutes until 2pm though, so she wasn't exactly running late or anything.

"Kuroo-san?"

He turned around, his face breaking into a smile the moment he saw her. "Hey!" he got up and hugged her—was that too casual? "How've you been?"

"Good, good," she took her seat, smiling all the while, "My sister loved the sweater by the way. You have a good eye."

He chuckled nervously, "I've just been working there a long time."

She nodded in understanding.

 _Shit._ She didn't think he was just the cashier, did she? "Because I'm the manager and all." He quickly blurted, trying to adjust his previous statement. Her eyes widened at that. "Really? How old are you?"

"Twenty-four." He replied easily.

"Wow. That's pretty impressive." She praised.

It wasn't. Not really. But having her tell him so was nice. "Um, I know you're not supposed to ask a girl her age, but, how old are you?"

"Oh, me? I'm twenty-two. But I'm not sure I'll make it to twenty-three will all these student loans." She laughed at herself.

"What are you studying?"

At that moment, the waitress came out, her tray holding two cappuccinos. "I ordered for the both of us before you got here. Hope that's ok." He said.

"Yeah no worries," she said, thanking him. Then, taking a sip of her coffee, "Um I'm studying music. I started out with business but…it's just not really my thing."

As the waitress set down Kuroo's cup in front of him, she also put down a napkin, which Mei noticed had some scribbles on it. As she was leaving, she short Kuroo a flirtatious wink.

He looked down at the napkin and crumpled it up, clearing his throat awkwardly. Some girls had no damn shame. Couldn't she see he was _clearly_ having coffee with someone?

"Um," he began awkwardly, "Sorry about that…"

She smiled and shook her head, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure it's annoying. Especially for someone like you."

"Someone like me?"

She swallowed her coffee awkwardly, as though it had been painful, "Um…I'm sorry. I don't know the correct term…is gay not appropriate?" she cringed, biting her lip, "I meant no offense-"

 _Gay._

Kuroo could have died from both embarrassment and confusion. This couldn't _actually_ be happening.

"You think I'm gay?"

Mei blinked a few times, unsure of what to say.

"A-Aren't you?"

Tetsu broke out into a cold sweat. How…how did this happen? He'd never be able to look at her again. What the hell had he done to—

"I'm so sorry!" she blurted, "It's just you were working at that store and your pants were so tight and…" her face had gone completely red, "I'm so sorry!"

He burst into laughter. "Oh man. Well. That's a first. I'll give you that."

She looked down at her lap, trying to make the heat in her cheeks go down. "I…um…" she cursed under her breath, before looking up at him again, her face awkwardly caught between a grimace and an embarrassing pity, "I'm sorry. I'll just pay for my coffee-"

"Wait, wait!" he nearly lunged over the table, but stopped himself. "I mean…" he coughed awkwardly, trying to push down the lump that had formed in his throat, "I hope I didn't freak you out or anything. Or give you the wrong impression. I mean obviously I gave you the wrong impression but-"

"Please don't apologize!" she blurted, her face reddening once more, "I'm the only one who should be apologizing. I really just," she bit her lip, trying to find her words, "Crap I'm so awkward."

Tetsu blinked, time stopping for a moment. He didn't know why, but his heart started to beat really fast. It hadn't done that since high school.

"You're not awkward! I'm awkward," he told her, pointing to himself, "I can't ask a girl out properly, apparently. And I wear really tight pants, and come on, have you _seen_ my hair? Let's not even get started on that."

She laughed at that, bringing her knuckles up to her lips to try and hide her giggles. "I really am sorry though. Oh gosh…"

"Do you mind if maybe we start over?"

She looked at him, blinking and biting her lips nervously, "Um, ok, if you want."

Tetsu cleared his throat once again and put on a dazzling smile, "Hello there, Miss. I was wondering if you'd like to grab some coffee with me?"

"Isn't that rather bold?" she said, feigning a gasp and putting a hand over her chest, "You don't even know my name."

"Ah, right, excuse me. I'm Kuroo Tetsurou." he said, extending his hand for her to shake.

She smiled, "Tachibana Mei. Now about that coffee. When are you free?"

"How about right now?"

She nodded, laughing, "That works. And would ya look at that," she motioned around, "We're already at a coffee shop!"

"It's super convenient!" Tetsu chuckled stupidly.

She smiled as she sipped her coffee. "You're kind of funny." She admitted.

"Not to mention devilishly handsome." He smirked.

"That too." She said softly, lowering her gaze and taking another sip.

Tetsu thought that maybe she'd shot an arrow through his heart with that. She'd said it so calmly, in her adorably shy kind of way.

And the way she sipped coffee was freaking cute. His heart started to beat fast again. Ok so maybe there had been a slight road bump with the whole gay thing. But she seemed to handle it all pretty well. She was still on this date with him wasn't she?

As they continued to talk and laugh, Kuroo couldn't help but think that this one might just be a keeper.

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 **A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I'm a little late on updating. I think updates will continue to be spread out like this, since school is killing me this semester D; in any case, hope you enjoyed ^^**

 **Heartthrob-san: Aw thank you I'm glad you enjoyed my Oikawa story ^^ and I'm happy you're enjoying this one! I love making my fellow fans happy :D**


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